Tag Archives: pennsylvania

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the dump

best breakfast in Connelsville

Last day in PA, time to start our journey back home – stopping for a day layover back in Ohio with Kevin’s sister. We’re all starting to get homesick… We miss the house… the cats…. A bed with mattress and box springs.

Though this is only our second trip up to the mountains to visit Chad’s family, we’ve already created a parting-tradition. We go to The Dump for breakfast. the dump - interior

The Dump is a low-slung series of 15 x 30 shacks which appear to have been built over time and with no particular emphasis on a “master plan”. The interior is an eclectic mix of styles and local artifacts. The most consistent theme is the “No Swearing” signs posted at regular intervals.

no profanity sign

The food is nothing short of brilliant and stupid cheep. Six bucks and some change gets me an Amish Breakfast: Three eggs, homefries, nine sausage links, eight pieces of toast and gravy.

We’re distracted from homesickness upon getting on the road. It’s sad to say goodbye to PA…

Chad pilfered through his childhood bedroom though before leaving and filled a bag with old cassette tapes. Not long after getting onto the PA turnpike – we were rocking out to Men Without Hats and humming along to our favorite tracks on a copy of Depeche Mode’s Speak and Spell which had been played so many times it sounded like David Gahn was singing through a tin can.

ahhh.. Nostalgia…. Not blog worthy.

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if

our front yard?

There was just enough daylight left after waking up to take a short hike out back on Chad’s family’s property.

His folks are working on acquiring another chunk of land adjacent to their existing property – so we went fantasy home-site scouting.

We’re all pretty much sold on the “idea” of establishing a secondary residence in the mountains where we could spend part of the year, and the rest of the time in St. Louis.

“Idea” indeed.. A lot of “ifs” are in the mix there:
“If” – we could find a decent plot of land…. or
“If” – Chad’s suspicion is correct that they’d be willing to sell us a few acres of it. or…
“If” – I’m able to stir up some accounts in Pittsburgh.
“If” – etc.

Nonetheless – it was fun to hike around the mountain top and dream. It’s good to always have some sort of loose plan for the future… something to work towards.

We found the perfect site. A crest with terrific views just before the land drops off into the valley below, accented by huge exposed rocks and natural caves.

Can’t blog now – gotta fire up Illustrator and start sketching out our poor-man’s Falling Water.

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thanksgiving part 2

“grimm family, table of 20”

Chad’s grandma lives in a converted trailer adjacent to his parent’s home and is the site for the Thanksgiving feast.

Every last square foot of her home is filled with card tables and antique folding chairs. The aromas of pies, turkey and the wood-burning stove overpower you when you walk in.

Relatives pile in by the carload. They run the gambit from biomechanical engineer to power plant manager for Three Mile Island to school custodian.

The meal is great… Turkey, ham, stuffing, a vat of homemade noodles, hand thrown rolls and the one token vegetable, corn.

I eat 3 plates before retiring to the porch to chat with Chad’s cousins… I don’t last too long before starch and turkey comma overtakes me and I crawl away to the guest bedroom for a 3 hour nap.

One of the more cosmo-cousins, a 20-something, incredibly articulate java slinger for Starbucksâ„¢ and part-time tech-guru, has a LiveJournal.â„¢

likes to deny he has a blog as well.

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little humans Pt. 2

the nephew

Chase, Chad’s sister’s son, was born about 4 months after Kevin’s sister’s baby. At only 18 months, you’d swear they’re trying to set the two up. I thought arranged weddings went out hundreds of years ago.

Little Chase is fascinated by my camera which makes it a challenge to get photos of him. I’ve usually got about 10 seconds while he stares right into the lens before he runs over to me and starts pressing all the cool little shiny buttons on the camera.

All babies are the same… crying, pooping, slobbering little need factories… But at this age they’re little totally unique people.

I get a kick out of comparing the personality traits between the toddlers I’ve met during this trip.

Chase and Jessie would make a cute couple, say in about 18 years – but I’d never admit this notion and encourage their parents’ extreme pre-matchmaking.

I’ll never admit I’m blogging about this either.